A new study has found a possible link between high blood pressure and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and researchers believe anti-hypertension drugs may be the key.

For the study, published recently in PLOS Medicine, researchers at Brigham Young University, the University of Washington, the University of Cambridge, and Aarhus University in Denmark looked at the data from more than 17,000 individuals with Alzheimer's and more than 37,000 people without the disease. Data was collected from the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC) and the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP).

The researchers looked at modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking, and used a process called Mendelian randomization to examine the causality of these risk factors.
"We take the genes that influence blood pressure and see what their relationship is to Alzheimer's," study co-author John Kauwe, an associate professor of biology at Brigham Young University, told HCB News. "In our analysis, people that had the genes for high blood pressure had lower levels of Alzheimer's. Almost everyone who has high blood pressure is taking medication."

Kauwe said that it is up to drug companies that sell anti-hypertension drugs to take the next steps.

"The data do suggest that these anti-hypertension medications may be involved in the effect we're seeing," Kauwe said. "Companies that own the drugs will have to look at the data to see if it's worth developing trials."

The Alzheimer's Association, along with the Fondation Plan Alzheimer, a French organization, co-funded IGAP.

"IGAP is paying dividends and we're excited to see that," Dr. Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer's Association, told HCB News.

Fargo said the Alzheimer's Association has been interested in how people can modify risk factors to prevent the development of the disease. He referred to a two-year clinical trial in Finland called the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, or the FINGER Study, which found interventions based around exercise and diet improved cognitive performance.

"The results of that kind of study will really tell us whether modifying people's behavior will decrease their risk for dementia," Fargo said.

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